Just an aside, I've only ever owned hardtails, still have my '91 M500, and still love the frame. (just not the useless old parts)
Looking at current part prices, I'm compelled to buy a new bike, and it just doesn't make sense to buy a third hard tail.

Also, any compelling reason to go for an '07 P4 or Rush 4 instead? Major price increase.

I'm not up to date on component lines, haven't bought any new parts in 10+ years.
Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

what kind of trails are you biking? if they're rocky and have some nice declines, i'd say the prophet all the way at your size. if you never see much technical stuff then maybe the rush is fine. at your size i'd err on the prophet though. few drawbacks for that extra plush.

also, the two '06 bikes you mentioned are the entry-level bikes -- good of course, but the very next step up gets you the lefty, a fantastic XC fork with noticeable performance improvement over that marzocchi or recon. in terms of the better '07 models you listed, it's better componentry -- mainly weight savings. if you are into climbing its worth it. well, its worth it no matter what, but either you have the scratch or not, right? bikes are a ton of money, and if you bike a couple times a week or more, its always worth it in my opinion.

Originally Posted by molecan

At stock spec, what are the major differences between the '06 Prophet 400 and '06 Rush 400?

Two local shops have one of each for sale, at basically the same price.

Also, any opinions from Clydes on these bikes? I'm 6'2" and about 250 lbs. Any issues w.forks, rear suspension, etc?

Last summer I bought a Rush and really liked it. A few months ago I bought a Prophet just for fun and I liked it even better so I sold the Rush. The Rush seems more like a sports car as compared to the Prophet's SUV feel. Either way you can't go wrong.

the rush is much more XC oriented to the prophets AM genes. i have the prophet and i absolutely love it. I have to ride halfway up a mountain to get to the nearest trails and as long as the suspension is stiff enough it will be a little more XC. I like knowing i can ride almost anything i come across whereas with the rush there would be some (but not many) limitations. No matter what you do, buying a cannondale is a step in the right direction

I agree with most of these guys. I ride a Rush only because I am more oriented toward XC riding. The Prophet will be so comfortable with the 140mm rear travel. As far as forks, the lefty is by far the best I've used. The best way to go is to demo either if you can but if not it just comes down to getting the bike you feel is the way to go and then ride and ride and ride until the bike doesn't matter

With your weight, Prophet all the weigh (pun intended). No matter what type of riding you'll be doing. The Rush is more for leg shaving weight weenees. (Just kidding guys lighten up - oops, you already are). I sometimes weigh "well" over 200 and the biger 'bones' of the Prophet are what you need. I went from a hardtail to the Prophet 1 1/2 years ago and love it. But I got use to it after a while and didn't think it was all that much better than the old hardtail. Well, I dusted the hardtail off (96 Trek 6500 with RST fork added) and took to the trails with the same justo. Surprise. What was I thinking? I bombed down a run as fast as I'd done on the Prophet and Taco'd the rear wheel. The jarring ride was simply terrible. Full Suspension is the ONLY weigh (again...) to go!

At your weight, you will appreciate the extra beef/travel and the extra weight in the bike will not be much of a factor. Save for a good Lefty fork model. Really nice.

My recent purchase of a 2005 (new...never sold) 800 with the Lefty 140 Max TPC fork is the best handling, most balanced bike I have owned in 25 years of riding. I do notice the extra lbs over my old bike when I need to accelerate up a rolling hillclimb, but it climbs very well overall and the bike is really sharp feeling for a +5" travel bike.

At a local trail park I had my prophet set against a wall while grabbing a eat and drink. It was on the FR (slack) frame setting and looking all stretched out and mean. A guy on a brand new rush rides up and the only thing he said was he wished he bought the prophet for that frame setting option. I know anyone can buy the wrong bike for themselves, too easy to do these days, and getting easier. I had to buy a crappy bike too, first. So the way I see it, the rush is a shorter travel xc bike and probably a damn good xc bike too, but the prophet can be setup for xc and stiffen up the shocks with more psi and one can ride all day putting down many xc miles. I've done 60 mile+ days trail/road mix and anything that looked fun on the prophet just by adjusting the air in the shock, seat height, and not the frame, although I could. Hope this helps.

I demo'd the 06 Rush 400, Prophet 400, and ended up forking (pun intended) over the extra cash for an 06 Prophet 600. Love the bike, does feel a bit heavier/ponderous than the rush, but the fork/frame do feel a lot more comfortable.

I felt like my weight was being distributed a bit much over the front end on the Rush, and the Marzocchi forks were way too loose for my liking.